Meat-tree.



No. 897,015. I PATENTBD AUG. 25, 1908. G. E. RICHMOND.

MEAT. TREE.

APPLIOATION rmm APR. 29, 1907.

Gav/4657mm,

A TTOR/VEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE E. RICHMOND, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO FRANKBROWN WEEKS, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS.

ME AT-TREE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 25, 1908.

Application filed April 29, 1907. Serial No. 370,942.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. RICHMOND, a citizen of the United States,residing at Houston, in the county of Harris and State of Texas, haveinvented a new and useful Meat-Tree, of which thefollowing is aspecification.

This invention relates to a hanging sup port for meats to be smoked orsubjected to cold storage, and is designedfor use in carrying a numberof pieces of meat to, and supporting them within, their place ofstorage.

The object of the invention is to provide a novel support or meat treeofsimple form and strong construction, capable of holding a great manypieces of meat in two or more groups in different horizontal planes, andmeans for increasing the distance between the several groups tocorrespond to the length of the pieces of meat in each group.

In the accompanying drawing: Figure 1 is an elevation of the improvedmeat tree partly broken away. Fig. 2 is a vertical cen tral sectionalview of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail View.

Similar numerals of reference indicate the same part on all the figures.

As represented in the drawing, the invention consists broadly of twoindependent hangers, each provided with meat supports attached theretoin such manner as to form two independent groups.

Referring by numerals to the several parts, 1 and 2 indicate two rackbars, vertically disposed, inclosed within a two part housing or guide3, joined together by rivets 4 extending laterally through the housing.The rack bars 1 and 2 are in the same plane and their gear teeth, whichface each other, are engaged by an intermediate pinion 5 havinghorizontal journals, rotatable in bearings in the center of the housingsides 3. The journal on one side of the pinion has a reduced, threadedstem 5 provided with a nut 6 on the outside of the housing. The oppositejournal has a projecting polygonally shaped stud 7 on which a wrench orkey 8 is placed when it is desired to rotate the pinion.

The housing 3, as heretofore stated, is made in two parts or halves,divided centrally in a plane passing through the two bars 1 and 2. Atthe top 9 the two parts of the housing are brought together and have acommon opening 10 therethrough by means of which the} tree is suspended.Openings 1 11 and 12 are made near the upper end of the housing 3through which the upper ends of the respective rack bars 1 and 2 mayemerge. The entire bottom 13 of said housing is open for the lower endsof said rack bars.

The rack bars 1 and 2 are brought into close relation at their lowerends and have bolted to them respectively, the downwardly extending orlongitudinalangle bars 14 and 15. Also bolted to the vertical angle bar2, near its upper end are two horizontal or transverse angle bars 16 and17 which are placed at a right angle to each other and each extendsequally on opposite sides of said vertical angle bars 1 and 2, thehorizontal bar 16 being above the other horizontal bar 17. A brace 18extends from each horizontal angle bar to the vertical angle bar tostrengthen it and hold it in a rigid position. A similar arrangement isfound on the vertical angle bar 1, but on a lower plane, where it willbe seen from an inspection of Fig. 1 that the horizontal bars arenumbered 19 and 20 and the brace 21. The horizontal bars on the verticalbar 2 form one group. Theseeond group comprises the horizontalbarsattached to the other vertical bar 1.

For the purpose of suspending pieces of meat on the tree, plates ofsheet metal are folded to form U-shaped hangers 22 Which easily fit overthe standing edges of the hori zontal bars, and have attached to theirlower edges on each side, curved hooks 23 on which pieces of meat arehung. The hooks are separated from each other sufficiently far toprevent the .hanging pieces of meat from coming into contact.

The meat tree being suspended from. the opening 10, a hanger 22 isplaced on the projecting portions of the horizontal angle bars and, ifnecessary, the pinion 5 is rotated to separate or bring closer togetherthe two groups of bars and their hangers, the distance being regulatedby the length of the pieces of meat to be suspended from the uppergroup. After the tree has been filled with meat, it is removed bysuitable means to its destination.

Importance is attached to the use of the U-shaped hangers 22 because itbecomes possible to place a number of pieces of meat upon one of thesehangers and to carry the hanger to the rack and place it on one of theupper arms designed to support it. The operation of placing the meatupon the rack or tree is therefore greatly facilitated. Moreover, as thehangers are removable the hooks can be conveniently cleaned.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. A meat treecomprising a supportin guide or housing, members movably mountedtherein, groups of suspending devices con nected to said members, andmeans cooper ating with said members for simultaneously shifting thegroups toward or from each other.

2. A meat tree comprising a guide, rack bars within the guide, bars atright angles to each other attached to each rack bar and forming agroup, and a pinion between and engaging said rack bars for changing thevertical distance between said groups of bars.

3. A meat tree comprising a guide, slidable members within the guide, agroup of supporting bars attached to each member, said groups being indifi erent horizontal planes, and means cooperating with the slidablemembers for simultaneously moving said groups in opposite directionsvertically.

4. A meat tree comprisin a guide, parallel rack bars in the guide,alongitudinal bar extending from each rack bar, bars at a right angle toeach other and erpendicular to each longitudinal bar and 'orming groups,said groups being in different hooks and removably supported on one of:

said bars.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE E. RICHMOND.

Witnesses:

J. T. GrBBoNs, J. H. WIGZELL.

